Subliminal
by HannahSakura.Pinoy
Summary: Killing is not a fault during war, it is a responsibility. As he poised the blade at her throat, he whispered to her, "This is to end Naruto's inner war." And an afterthought, said silently to himself, 'And mine.' Time-travel. Konohamaru x FEM Sasuke.
1. Chapter 1

A female Sasuke fan fiction _again_. Time travel. Konohamaru X Sasuke.

Summary: Killing is not a fault during war, it is a responsibility. As he poised the blade at her throat, he whispered to her, "This is to end Naruto's inner war." And an afterthought, said silently to himself, 'And mine.'

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><p>It is seven years after the war between Madara and the world. It was the worst war (or so he'd been told), and the most memorable one (so say the veterans that have managed to survive a few) for it was in this war that all five shinobi nations were brought together <em>for<em> each other and not against. And it is memorable for Konohamaru for it had been his first war, and though it has been seven years, some days it seemed to have happened only days before.

Sometimes he becomes afraid of closing his eyes for he would come back to that time when he was twelve and all he saw was death and blood and his friends' horror and his own mirrored in each other's eyes. He doesn't want to go back to that time.

He had killed, and it took a while before he was able to convince himself that at that time it was a valid action, and no excuse was demanded to justify it. It was a war. Killing is not a fault during war, it is a responsibility. He has become accustomed to it. At this point in his life, with all the missions he'd done, he has hardened into a decent shinobi worthy of the jounin rank he'd acquired precisely three months and six days prior to this day. He has no regrets (no tremendous ones, anyway) from that time, unlike some who are not even aware of how tragic they'd become from the remorse they'd enclosed themselves in. And there is one person in particular that is a victim of this self-inflicted internal disorder: Rokudaime Hokage Uzumaki Naruto.

Two years ago, a twenty-year-old Uzumaki Naruto was handed the position as leader of Konogakure, a well-deserved reward (or compensation), by popular opinion. Of course it was also by the Council of Elder's approval (as it had always been and always will be).

Naruto is still Naruto. Yet sometimes he becomes different. He becomes distracted, angry, depressed, and even cruel, among many things, and these changes were sometimes severe that Konohamaru becomes frightened. He begins to think of the demon inside that strong-willed, good-natured person's body take over. He wouldn't be able to live with the fact that his Naruto nii-chan would hurt and even kill his own comrades, even though it wasn't really Naruto nii-chan, and even though he'll know that it was the monster he'll still blame the human and not the evil thing inside him and that is the most terrifying.

The most upsetting thing for Konohamaru is the cause of Naruto's condition. Uchiha Sasuke. He'd developed a hate for the girl after the war when he had realized that she had been the source of many damaging situations. It was because of her that Orochimaru had come back to this village ten years ago, and it led to the death of Sandaime Hokage. The village lost their leader, he lost his grandfather. And then again, it was with her help that the war seven years ago took place. And until now, though she is gone, she continues to destroy people with their memory of her. And it is aggravating, that despite the damage she had done to the village and the rest of the world, be it directly or indirectly, there are still those who mourn for her, and even hope for news of her existence. They did not find her body, and not believing her dead is the chain that binds Naruto, Sakura, and Kakashi.

But she has not consumed the pink-haired medic and the Copy-Ninja, unlike the blonde who is obsessed with that black-haired girl who had been his rival and his goal and maybe, hopefully, had been his friend. It had been this twisted relationship that traps Naruto in an equally twisted desire for her (in Konohamaru's opinion anyway). What Naruto needs is closure, and Konohamaru is especially willing to find her for him if it would end the torment, or ease it a little bit.

And if he finds her alive...

_I will kill her._

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><p>Comments?<p> 


	2. Chapter 2

When the blow hit her she knew it was her time to die. Sasuke felt the pain for only a second before time seemed to slow, the colors muted along with all sound except for a light buzzing that seemed to come from everywhere and yet nowhere. Barely aware of the warm earth beneath her, she knew nothing but the heaviness of all her limbs and she closed her eyes, making no other movement. In her head she smiled as she accepted defeat and took pleasure in her last few moments in this world. She could no longer open her eyes and regretted closing them.

Somewhere on her left she could hear movement and that made her remember that she was not alone. Even without seeing, she somehow knew the victor was not happy and in fact would remain miserable for some time. She thought of their odd relationship: a crazy, warped sort of friendship slash rivalry, and momentarily lamented on its brevity. Sasuke found herself wishing that things had gone differently. If only she grew up a different kind of girl and not this (admittedly) twisted character who was a willing prisoner of her shadowed past but secretly wanting to break free from it. She had voluntarily permitted equally twisted men to mold and manipulate her, pulling her even deeper into the muddy darkness until she became stuck.

She wondered what sort of people and circumstances shaped people such as her seemingly psychotic (and already dead) snake mentor who drowned in the darkness long before she'd been born. The difference between them was that Orochimaru chose to be tainted in the first place (or seemed to have, in her opinion), while in her circumstance it was imposed upon her when she was defenceless and too young to have faced it all alone and fend it off.

She could place blame her weakness on her mother who wasn't strict, or her father who'd been very critical and unsupportive, or her brother who made her believe he was everything she needed and wanted and then changed the world she lived in and turned it very ugly. Through the years after that day, she thought she could break free of that powerlessness fast enough only to find out how naïve she had been living, and realizing later that the village was a cage that prevented her from reaching her full potential.

But when she was twelve there was this blonde boy with the welcoming grin but distant eyes. She'd known of him before, that ever lonely little boy in the playground, but only later had she found out and understood that he was as lost as she was, unable to find a place in the world.

A mutual agony became the base of the bond which developed within the short time they'd spent together, and somehow it was able to encroach on the walls she'd kept herself in. And while all along she'd already been convinced that revenge was the only thing she'd need to end her living nightmare, at times she'd somewhat falter in her resolve all because she'd remember that boy who'd also lost everything but lived as if the chains that bound him weighed like nothing.

As a gentle breeze went by, she could not help but drown in both sorrow and joy that that boy was the last person she had seen before she dies, and again she smiled inside her head, wishing him all the best before she knew no more.

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><p>Naruto was consumed by anger, hurt, and desperation to save his friend and fulfil his promise. In his moment of weakness Kyuubi had taken over his consciousness. He could only watch the scene in horror as he came to. Red chakra tails disappeared one by one, beast-like eyes turned back to a beautiful blue that always seemed to sparkle with confidence and exuberance. Today those eyes turned dull and wide in horror at the scene he was looking at: a beautiful grassy area surrounded by the woods and in it a body that was mostly covered in a sickening dark red. The distance between him and the body felt ridiculously filled with an unpleasant air he could not begin to explain.<p>

"You…" Suddenly losing strength, the blond fell to his knees, his voice shaking as he addressed the demon inside him. "You said you'd take care of it. You said that you would save her. YOU SAID YOU WOULD SAVE HER!" Crawling over to Sasuke's body desperately, his body trembled with dread and shock and panic. Urgency and terror subdued all physical pain. All he could think of was to cover the distance to that unmoving body and to shake the girl back to consciousness. When he finally did reach her and her eyes did not flutter open despite his near-violent efforts, Naruto felt something change inside him. The world turned cold in spite of the bright daylight, the warm ground.

He could not find any strength in his legs to stand or stay calm, which had never been his strong point but he'd been through this before and it wasn't easier. In fact it seemed much, much more painful. She was so still. So still. Frenzied thoughts rushed all over the blonde's head, and what started as enraged censure and condemnation directed to Kyuubi turned into pleas, helpless and very desperate and the beast almost pitied him for the madness he seemed to be heading to.

_**I did save her, boy. Think about it. She was headed to a path of destruction. I saved her from a much worse fate. **_

Naruto reluctantly considered the fox's words and knew how true they were. There were worse things that could happen, and death was probably the most effective solution to avoid them. Yet he could not accept it. Repeatedly, he denied the demon's justifications and tried to convince himself that there should have been another way.

He imagined going back to Konoha with Sasuke's dead body, confronting Sakura and picturing the desolation on her face as he tells her the news and he felt utterly empty inside. All he could do was scream and cry out Sasuke's name again and again until his throat was dry and raw.

It hurt having to admit that he had failed. Being incapable of keeping the most important promise of his life split him into pieces. And not being good enough to make this person come back completely destroyed him.

Last night he couldn't sleep, thrilled, somewhat nervous and amazed and many other things, because somehow he knew all the way to the marrow of his bones that by the next night he would be heading back with Sasuke to their home. How could this day end so differently from the way it was supposed to end? A thousand times he'd imagined it, another thousand times he had dreamed of it. Today was supposed to have concluded with a level of happiness he had never reached before.

_Why? Why?_

Kyuubi did not care whether the boy grieved for his friend or for the unfulfilled promise to their pink-haired teammate. The fox himself believed Naruto should instead mourn for the three years he had spent chasing after the girl. The training wasn't futile, but Kyuubi always knew this goal would end fruitless. Sasuke had been beyond saving, and knowing that the blonde would never have listened to him, he had wisely decided to let the boy accept it on his own once the time came. Watching him now, desolately clutching the body, the demon could only feel a slight pity for his vessel and silently admitted to himself that he had become attached to the boy to a certain extent.

Through his host's eyes he inspected the girl and noticed (not for the first time) her beauty under the filth and blood that covered her skin and clothes. And then he had a sudden thought and grinned a malicious grin, one he knew all too well his host couldn't see. Somehow he did not want the boy to be miserable forever. He never wanted to intervene, and in fact he shouldn't at all, but she wasn't completely dead yet and he had the power to bring Sasuke back.

Considering possible effects as he envisioned and calculated the merits, he silently concluded that it would be a pity to let such a girl die so young. Admittedly he didn't entirely believe she was beyond saving. An extremely small part of him believed in what is said to be impossible because he'd witnessed such incidents before in his lifetime.

Redemption gifted; something he'd seen and understood not all humans chance upon, and if so, eagerly accept, if at all. The girl was fortunate to have it offered to her and even persist after she shunned it away. The beast laughed at himself who minutes before intentionally killed the girl because he wickedly wanted to, and yet as he remain unrepentant willingly choose to revive her.

He couldn't deny that, yes, he wanted to fool around with Naruto and his friend (or whatever she was to him) and that he'd always had that desire to amuse himself with these pathetic humans. He also couldn't reject his interest in this young, broken little Uchiha who he could tell was born for greater things like many of her clan before her. Only she remained, and he decided against assisting in the clan's permanent collapse (for now) and he smirked as he entertained the idea of taking part in the procreation several little Uchihas (and it would certainly be his pleasure).

Unaware of anything but his anguish, red chakra surged through Naruto's hands unnoticed, enclosing every inch of Sasuke's body and she jerked once violently in his arms, releasing the blond from stupor. Two pairs of eyes opened wide, one in disbelief, the other in shock and pain. The beast (in utter conspiratorial delight) and his host (in bewildered astonishment) watched her come alive.

"Sasuke…?" Somewhere in the back of her mind Sasuke felt as if her soul had come crashing back into her body and forced her awake. While at first she was aware of Naruto calling her name and the burning intensity and surprise reflected in his eyes, an indescribable heat dragged her away and made her sentient only of the pain all over her body, particularly intense in her wounds. It felt like blazing fire running throughout her veins, a white hot pain that made her open her mouth to cry out but she could not make a sound.

Naruto, even as he felt helpless watching her writhe in his arms, went through a shift in spirit. Elation made him cry out as he was released from a realm of darkness he'd once been a frequent visitor to in the earlier stages of his life.

But then the weight in his arms suddenly became empty. For a moment he stared at his stained hands. Looking around he found no one else in the field.

Sasuke had vanished, leaving only her blood in horrific stains on his hands and arms and on the grass as proof she'd been in the area. The blonde was wordless, his mind swimming with questions he couldn't grasp, and throughout the incident Kyuubi deviously remained silent of his involvement.

In his thoughts, Naruto could only focus on the fact that Sasuke was gone once again, and without even bothering to speculate on how she'd manage to run off without him noticing, he suddenly found the strength to stand on shaky legs in a desperate attempt to catch up to her. Kyuubi kept himself uninvolved in the futile hunt, uninterested as he was in reducing the continuous torment from this growing obsession which Naruto was ignorant of.

_**She's alive, Naruto. We'll see her again.**_

Naruto was only partly listening. He swore anew to himself that he would find Sasuke again, unaware of the darkness swallowing him back in its embrace.

Kyuubi sighed and withdrew to himself once more, reigning in his excitement for what would come in due course. Vaguely, he wondered how Sasuke would manage when she awakens, wherever she was, and what things would unfold when these two meet again.

'_I'm looking forward to it,'_ he thought wickedly. _'Uchiha Sasuke.'_

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><p>Thank you for reading and please tell me what you think. Obviously, KonohamaruXSasuke is not popular, but I do very much enjoy this non-canon pairing. Hopefully more people would read this and start to enjoy it too.<p>

I am hoping to update my Haku x Fem Sasuke x Gaara fic soon, and also the Fem Kakashi one. But it won't be for a while.


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